Nutty Roasted Pears

4 tbsp pure butter
4 pears, halved and cored
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped and toasted
1 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with oven rack in center position..

Place the butter on a baking pan and put into the heated oven. Once butter has melted, sprinkle with brown sugar. Add the pear halves with the cut side down on top of the butter/sugar (caramel) mixture and bake for about 30 minutes.

Once the pear halves are tender, turn them over and baste with the caramel sauce. Bake for a further 10 minutes until nice and golden. Serve the pear halves in bowls and top with sour cream, caramel and the nuts.

This dessert should be served hot and fresh.

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Fruity Grilled Chocolate Kabobs

3 pears, peeled and cut into quarters
6 grapes, halved
12 strawberries
2 tbsp raw sugar
Wooden skewers, soaked in water for 15 min. (like for kabobs)

Chocolate Dip

½ cup favorite chocolate bar, chopped
½ cup + 2 tbsp heavy cream
25 mini marshmallows
2 tbsp chopped toasted almonds

Note: You can change the fruit to whatever you like and the nuts as well…or eliminate the nuts altogether.

Melt the chocolate, heavy cream and marshmallows in a small saucepan over low heat. Stay on it and keep stirring. Bring to a boil and whisk rapidly for about 2 minutes until the sauce thickens. Stir in nuts. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine fruit and sprinkle with sugar. Toss gently. Put them on skewers.

Grill fruit skewers for about 7 minutes, until the fruit is caramelized and heated well.

Serve with the freshly made chocolate dip.

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Very Berry Custard

1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup whole milk
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups fresh assorted berries; raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, halved strawberries, etc.

To prepare custard, combine cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons of sugar in a small pan.  Once mixed well, add egg and milk.  Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to boil, stirring frequently.  Take care not to over cook.  Once custard begins to bubble, pour into a bowl immediately and allow to cool approximately 5 to 7 minutes.  Slowly whisk sour cream into the custard and add vanilla once mixed well.  Cover and chill up to 1 day.  When ready to serve, if custard is too thick add a bit of milk, and spoon over berry mixture.  Set berry mixture aside.

Now it’s time to create the topping. In a skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons of sugar on medium-high heat setting just until sugar begins to melt.  Shake skillet (do not stir sugar) to heat evenly.  Reduce to low heat and cook until sugar is melted and golden.  Stir if needed with a wooden spoon.  Once sugar is cooked pour over berry custard mixture and serve immediately.

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Apple and Strawberries with Rhubarb

4-5 large apples
3 rhubarb stalks
1/2 pint strawberries
1/4 cup water

Peel rhubarb and cut into small pieces. Next, core and peel apple and chop. Remove stems from strawberries. Combine all ingredients into a pot and add water. Cook mixture over medium heat until boiling. Turn heat down and open cover just enough to allow a bit of steam to escape the pot. Simmer until the majority of apples are dissolved and sauce isn’t watery looking, stirring occasionally. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes. Turn heat off when there is still a bit of water left in pot. Allow to cool and then refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tip: You can use cranberries as a substitute for rhubarb if desired.

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Chocolate Chip Truffles

Ganache

9 oz semisweet chocolate
1 c. heavy cream, room temperature
3 oz dark sweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks
1 Tablespoon Sabra Orange-chocolate liqueur

Dipping

16 oz. dark sweet chocolate
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Garnish

1 cup dark chocolate shavings.

Prepare ganache by chopping or grating semisweet chocolate into small pieces. Place in top half of double boiler along with cream. Put hot (not boiling) water in bottom of double boiler, taking care that water
doesn’t touch top half. Stir with a wooden spoon. When melted, beat vigorously until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

When ganache is at room temperature, add Sabra Liqueur and dark chocolate chunks, stirring until thoroughly blended. Transfer to covered bowl and refrigerate overnight to harden.

Take a little ganache at a time and form 1″ balls, using fingertips (with as little contact as possible so the chocolate doesn’t soften). Keep unused portion refrigerated as you work. Place balls on waxed paper-lined baking sheet; continue until ganache is used up. Refrigerate baking sheet until ganache is hardened, overnight or up to two days. Allow to set in refrigerator at least two hours before loosely covering with waxed paper.

Dipping

Prepare chocolate coating with 16 ounces dark sweet chocolate and 1/4 cup vegetable oil.Chop or grate chocolate into small pieces. Heat chocolate and oil together in top of double boiler over hot water,
stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Insert candy thermometer and begin dipping the ganache balls when temperature registers between 85-90F. If chocolate begins to cool and thicken before you’re
finished dipping, reheat over hot water.

Work with 1/2 dozen ganache balls at a time, keeping the rest refrigerated. Drop ganache into the chocolate, turning until completely covered. Lift with fork, letting excess drain off, then gently rap fork against rim of pan to remove more chocolate. Gently slide truffle off of fork (using a butter knife) onto waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles.

Garnish

Garnish truffle by sprinkling dark chocolate shavings over top. Repeat with remaining truffles. Refrigerate truffles overnight or until firm. Allow to set in refrigerator at least 2 hours before loosely covering with waxed paper.

Makes approximately 40 truffles.

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Basic Chocolate Truffle Recipe

8 oz dark sweet chocolate
1 c. heavy cream, room temperature

Chocolate Coating:

16 oz. dark sweet chocolate
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Making the Ganache:

To prepare ganache, chop or grate chocolate into small pieces. Place in top half of double boiler along with cream. Put hot (not boiling) water in bottom half of a double boiler, making sure the water doesn’t touch the top pan. Stir often with wooden spoon. When all of the chocolate has melted, beat until well combined. Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature. Transfer to covered bowl and refrigerate
overnight to harden. (Ganache will keep in this state for a few days if necessary.)

Take a little ganache at a time and form 1″ balls, using fingertips (with as little contact as possible so the chocolate doesn’t soften). Keep unused portion refrigerated as you work. Place balls on waxed paper-lined baking sheet; continue until ganache is used up. Refrigerate baking sheet until ganache is hardened, overnight or up to two days. Allow to set in refrigerator at least two hours before loosely covering with waxed paper.*

*Foil can be substituted in all cases for waxed paper, but never use clear plastic wrap. It clings too tightly to the candies and traps moisture inside which discolors the chocolate.

Prepare Chocolate Coating:

Chop or grate chocolate into small pieces. Heat chocolate and oil together in top of double boiler over hot water, stirring until smooth with a wooden spoon. Insert candy thermometer and begin dipping the ganache balls when temperature registers between 85-90F. If chocolate begins to cool and thicken before you’re finished dipping, reheat over hot water. Work with only 1/2 dozen at a time, keeping the rest refrigerated. Drop a single ganache ball into the chocolate, turning to coat well, then lift it with the fork. Allow excess chocolate to drip back into pan, then gently rap fork against edge of pan to remove more chocolate from ball. Failure to do this will cause a large dribble “platform” or “skirt” to form around the base of each hardened truffle. (this makes it difficult to pack them side by side in a box.)

There are two schools of thoughts as to the proper method of depositing truffles onto the baking sheet: A) If you are conservative by nature it’s best to gently slide them off the fork with a butter knife, onto the waiting baking sheet. B) If you intend to further decorate the truffle, the second method, (for the showoffs among us) involves dropping the truffle off the fork upside down directly onto the baking sheet. Quickly manipulate the single strand of chocolate, adhering to the fork, into some glorious shape atop the candy, like the pros do.

Either way is acceptable, although the second way requires some practice and an accurate thermometer to get it right. If your chocolate temperature is off by a few degrees, you’re likely to find a chocolate highway – not a chocolate strand – adhering to the fork when that critical moment comes.

The perfect finale for the basic recipe, for instance, is a sprinkling of shaved dark chocolate over the top, or better yet, gently rolling each newly-dipped truffle in the shavings to coat completely.

Refrigerate all truffles after dipping several hours or overnight to harden.

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Noodle Kugel

18 oz medium broad egg noodles
4 oz sweet butter, softened
6 lrg. eggs, separated
9 oz creamed cottage cheese
9 oz sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp orange peel, grated
18 oz apples, peeled, cored, sliced thinly
4 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Cook noodles in boiling, salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add butter and mix until the butter is melted. Set aside. In another mixing bowl, combine egg yolks, cottage cheese, sour cream, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, orange peel, apples and raisin. Add this mixture to the noodles and mix thoroughly. Quickly beat egg whites until stiff. Fold the whites into the noodle mixture thoroughly.Pour the noodle mixture into a greased 2 1/4 liter (2 1/2 quart) casserole, suitable for the table. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the top.

Bake in a preheated 400F oven for 45 minutes.

Serve from the casserole, either hot or at room temperature. The kugel can be rewarmed in a 350F oven for 15 minutes.

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Almond Biscotti

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup slivered almonds, chopped and toasted
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
3 eggs
cooking spray

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine vanilla and next 3 ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring until well-blended (dough will be dry).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 10 times. Shape dough into a 16-inch-long roll. Place roll on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and flatten roll to 1-inch thickness.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove roll from baking sheet to a wire rack, and let cool 15 minutes. Cut roll diagonally into 30-1/2-inch slices, and place, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 325°, and bake 10 minutes. Turn cookies over, and bake an additional 10 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet; let cool completely on wire rack.

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Clasic Creme Brulee

8 egg yokes
1/3 c. granulated sugar
2 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. pure bourbon vanilla
1/4 c. granulated white sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together egg yokes and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Add cream and vanilla, and continue to whisk until well blended. Strain into large bowl, skimming off any foam or bubbles.

Divide mixture among 6 ramekins. Place in a 13×9 inch pan filled with enough water that the ramekins are emerged halfway in the water. Bake until set around the edges, but loose in the center…about 50 minutes to an hour. Longer for larger ramekins. Remove from the oven and leave in the 13×9 with water until cool. Chill for 4 hours or up to 2 days.

Just before serving, sprinkle about 2 tsp. of sugar over each. To caramelize the sugar, use a small hand held torch until sugar is melted and golden brown ( take your time). Serve.

NOTE: If you do not have a hand held torch; you can broil them. Place the custards on baking sheet, no more than 5 inches away from heat. Turn if needed. WATCH CLOSELY!

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Chocolate Souffle

3 T. butter
2 T. unsweetened cocoa
3 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
2 T. sugar
Pinch salt
Pinch cream of tartar

Heat oven to 375° F. Use 1 T. of the butter to grease a 16-ounce ramekin. Coat the ramekin with the cocoa. Tap out the excess.

In a large bowl, over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and remaining butter. Stir occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Whisk in the yolks one at a time until smooth. Set aside.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the sugar, salt, and cream of tartar until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Gently fold the egg-white mixture into the chocolate. Spoon into the ramekin. Bake until puffed and set, about 40 minutes. Serve immediately.

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